Neurologist: Girl's head trauma consistent with severe brain injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The neurologist who treated Kilah Davenport testified in Union County Court Friday about the surgery he did on the young girl and the type of injury she had.

The doctor's testimony is part of the trial for Joshua Houser who is accused of causing the head injury that sent Kilah to the hospital.

The neurologist, Dr. Vinay Deshmukh, described the surgery he performed to remove part of Kilah's skull and relieve pressure that was building up in her brain. He testified that without that surgery, Kilah would have died.

The jury also looked at CT scans and MRIs that showed what was going on in her brain.

The neurologist testified that Kilah's skull was fractured and her brain was swelling and bleeding.

He told the jury those symptoms were consistent with a severe brain injury caused by trauma.

He testified the injury was consistent with patients he had seen who were thrown from a car.

He told jurors, "It doesn't get more severe than this."

The defense attorney asked a number of questions to try to establish doubt over when Kilah's injury could have happened. The DA suggested she may have been hurt at one point but that symptoms didn't show up until later.

The doctor testified that he couldn’t say exactly how long Kilah's injury was there but that blood on the brain was fresh.

The defense attorney asked about other ways trauma could happen like falling down stairs or off a chair.

He also asked if it's difficult to determine if a brain injury is an accident or not. The doctor testified that it is difficult to know that.